LATEST | Former Canucks first Rounder reflects on his time in Vancouver: Jared McCann blames the team's management
Back in 2014, the Canucks used their first-round selection to draft a skilled centerman out of Sault Ste Marie (OHL), Jared McCann.
McCann made his NHL debut with the Canucks during the 2015-2016 season, where he tallied an underwhelming 18 points in 69 games. Unsatisfied with the young centerman's production, Jim Benning moved him to the Florida Panthers in parts of a bigger deal to acquire Erik Gudbranson.
McCann slowly developed in the Panthers' organization, he was later traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and it's where things started to come along for him. He hit his full stride as a 24-year-old when he managed 32 points in 43 games; at this point, he became the Kraken's selection in the expansion draft. McCann collected 50 points in 74 games with the Kraken and put up even better numbers this year when he tallied 40 goals and 70 points.
Now 27 years old, McCann reflected on his time with the Canucks on a podcast and pointed out exactly what went wrong in his development:
"I could've used a year in the AHL...I think they did give up on me early, I really do. Mentally, it affected me a lot. [I] was in a dark place."
McCann did graduate from the NHL quite early, and it's fair to say that the Canucks' management group gave up on him quite early. He entered the league at 19 and only broke out at 24. Benning's impatience ended up costing the team a 40-goal-scorer.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 6 | 781 ANSWERS LATEST | Former Canucks first Rounder reflects on his time in Vancouver: Jared McCann blames the team's management We're the Canucks too impatient with McCann's development back then? | ||
| Absolutely | 552 | 70.7 % |
| No, it was the right move | 144 | 18.4 % |
| It was the price to pay to acquire Gudbranson | 85 | 10.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
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